Your mobile phone is 7 times filthier that a toilet seat

A study has discovered that mobile phones with plastic casings are almost seven times dirtier than a toilet seat, and that phones with leather cases are 17 times dirtier than a toilet seat.

Cleaning company Initial Washroom Hygiene recently undertook a study of office workers where smartphones were analysed using a handheld device which lights up live microbes where they appear on the surface. The company also analysed toilet seats. Analysis of toilet seats found an average of 220 bright spots, while analysis of phones discovered 1479 bright spot on average.

The study also found that two out of every five office workers take their phones to the workplace bathroom, but only 20 per cent regularly clean their phones, a habit scientists hypothesis contributes to the amount of germs residing on the phones.

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In 2011, the scientists at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that one in six mobile phones are contaminated with faecal matter, such as E.Coli, which can cause stomach bugs.

Professor Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, told the Daily Mail UK that, ‘Swabbing a smartphone is almost like checking your handkerchief for germs - you are likely to find them because of the close physical contact you have with this device several times a day.There will be norovirus on phones at this time of year but the bugs on smartphones will probably be people’s own bacteria so the likelihood of passing on disease is low. However, it might be ill-advised to pass smartphones around between people.”

Laura BarryLaura Barry is a writer, bookworm and interior design enthusiast with a love for reporting on all things homes, travel and lifestyle. When not tapping away at her keyboard, Laura can be found making endless cups of tea or perusing the shelves of Sydney’s many bookstores.